THE  CUTLER 
MAIL  CHUTE 


THE  MODERN  METHOD 
OF  POSTING  LETTERS  IN 
THE  UPPER  STORIES  OF 
$  $  BUILDINGS  <5>  $  $ 


Manufactured  and  Installed  under 
the  Cutler  Patents  solely  by  the 

CUTLER  MAIL  CHUTE  CO. 

ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 

U.  S.  A. 


Copyright  Ic>!7  by  the  Cutter  Mail  Chute  Co. 


FACTORY  OF  THE  CUTLER  MAIL  CHUTE  CO.  AT  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 

Designed,  built  and  equipped  exclusively  for 
the  manufacture  of  the  Cutler  Mail  Chute 


GENERAL  EXTERIOR  VIEW 


INTERIOR  MAIN  SHOP 

Plating,  Japanning,  Sandblasting,  Stock  Rooms,  Etc.,  not  shown 


Page  Two 


The  Cutler  Mail  Chute 


Historical 


HE  modern  method  of  mailing  letters  from  the 
upper  stories  of  buildings  was  introduced  in  the 
United  States  in  1883  by  the  original  inventors 
and  patentees,  the  Cutler  Manufacturing  Co.,  and 
from  modest  beginnings  the  business  of  manufac¬ 
turing  and  installing  the  Cutler  Mail  Chute  under  the  Cutler 
Series  of  Patents  has  become  a  well-known  and  important  Amer¬ 
ican  industry.  In  1884  four  of  these  Mail  Chutes  were 
installed;  at  the  present  time  there  is  no  office  building 
or  hotel  of  any  consequence  in  the  United  States  which  is  not 
equipped  with  this  modern  convenience,  and  it  is  also  in  use 
in  public  buildings,  apartment  houses,  hospitals,  colleges,  indeed 
buildings  of  every  class  in  which  mail  originates  in  the  upper  stories. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  United  States  Post  Office  authori¬ 
ties  did  not  recognize  the  Mail  Chute,  and  letters  deposited  in 
it  received  no  attention  until  they  had  reached  the 
Mail  Box  in  the  ground  story.  Blockades,  if  they 
occurred,  were  cleared  by  an  attendant  of  the  build¬ 
ing,  and  the  words  “U.  S.  Mail"  were  not  allowed  to  appear 
upon  the  Chute  in  the  upper  stories. 

At  the  present  time,  however,  the  Cutler  Mail  Chute  is  made 
under  authority  of  the  Post  Office  Department,  and  installed 
with  the  approval  of  the  local  Postmaster.  The  work  finished, 
the  Government  lock  applied,  and  the  collection  service  begun 
the  equipment  becomes  a  part  of  the  Postal  System  under  the 
care  and  custody  of  the  Post  Office  Department  and  Letters 
deposited  in  the  Chute  are  considered  legally  “mailed". 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  Mail  Chute,  provided 
for  the  use  of  the  public,  should  be  of  the  best  possible  design  and 


Post  Office 
Recognition 


Page  Three 


Importance  of 
Protection  and 
Proper  Design 
and  Construc¬ 
tion 


construction.  Moreover  it  can  be  installed  only  with 
official  authority  and  under  the  protection  of  such 
laws  as  protect  other  appliances  used 
in  handling  the  mails.  A  person  hav¬ 
ing  a  letter  to  post,  deposits  it  in  a 
street  letter  box  without  a  thought  as 
to  whether  that  particular  Box  is  au¬ 
thorized  by  the  postal  authorities  or  not.  He  knows 
that  no  street  boxes  exist  that  are  not  so  authorized. 
It  is  obvious  that  a  person,  in  an  upper  story  of  a 
building,  having  a  letter  to  mail  must  also  be  assured 
that  the  Mail  Chute  provided  is  of  proper  design 
and  construction  to  insure  successful  operation,  and 
is  installed  by  authority  of  the  Post  Office  Depart¬ 
ment,  and  under  proper  protection.  For  this  reason, 
Regulations  governing  the  construction  and  location 

of  Mail  Chutes  are  issued 
by  the  U.  S.  Post  Office 
Department  and  strictly 
enforced. 


U.  S.  Mail  Box.  design  No.  1165. 
Furnished  with  standard  equip¬ 
ment. 


Although  the  Cutler 
Mail  Chute  is  designed  and 
made  so  as 
to  offer  no 
obstruction 
to  mail  de¬ 
posited  in  it,  blockades  are 
bound  to  occur  occasional¬ 
ly  through  misuse  or  abuse; 
the  introduction  of  folded 
pamphlets  or  other  bulky 
objects,  etc.  To  safeguard 

mail  that  may  Afuii  story  Model  F 

.  .  type  showing  finish 

be  Caught  in  at  floor  and  ceiling. 


Accessibility 
to  Authorized 
Persons  Re- 
q  uired 


Page  Four 


such  blockades  and  yet  allow  it  to  be  quickly  and 
easily  removed  by  an  authorized  person,  it  is  re¬ 
quired  by  the  U.  S.  Post  Office  Department  that 
all  Mail  Chutes  shall  be  made  so  that  the  interior 
is  quickly  and  easily  accessible  to  such  persons 
but  not  to  others.  To  meet  this  requirement,  the 
Cutler  Mail  Chute  is  made  with  its  entire  front  in 
the  form  of  plate  glass  panels,  any  two  of  which 
are  released  by  the  turn  of  a  key,  and 
can  then  be  removed  and  replaced 
without  the  use  of  tools  or  the  exercise 

of  mechanical  skill. 

To  persons  unfamil¬ 
iar  with  the  modern 

Value  of  method  of 
Man  Chute  mailing 

letters,  it  is  difficult  to 
explain  the  value  and 
importance  of  the 
Cutler  Mail  Chute,  but 

when  it  is  remembered  Detail  showine  Model  F  ‘ype 

unlocked  with  panels  released 

that  the  Postal  Seivice,  and  lower  one  removed. 

which  will  move  a  letter 

in  any  other  direction,  has  no  other  method 
for  bringing  it  down  stairs  and  that  a  large  pro¬ 
portion  of  mail  originates  in  the  upper  stories 
of  buildings,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Cutler  Mail 
Chute  forms  a  very  important  link  in  the  Postal 
Service. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  a  postage  stamp 
that  will  carry  a  letter  half  way  around  the 
Detailshowing  Model  f  world  on  the  ground  level  will  not  move  that 

with  panels  closed  and  _  ...... 

locked,  inscription  and  letter  an  inch  in  an  upper  story  of  a  building 

insignia  as  used  in  #  # 

Argentina.  not  equipped  with  the  Cutler  Mail  Chute.  1  he 


MAIL 


;  &  sjhix  m 


mmm 


Stock  U.  S.  Mail  Box  design 
No.  2400  showing  special  in¬ 
scription  for  buildings  in 
Sydney,  Australia. 


stamp  under  such  conditions  is  worthless  for  this  pur¬ 
pose.  Install  this  modern  convenience  and  the  stamp 
begins  its.  activities  immediately  outside  the  letter- 
writer’s  door.  The  Cutler  Mail  Chute,  then,  plays 
just  as  much  part  in  the  transportation  of  a  letter,  in 
proportion  to  distance  and  direction,  as  a  railway  or 
steamship  line;  it  gives  the  tenant  the  benefit  of  the 
postal  service  by  bringing  him  practically  within 
reaching  distance  of  the  Post  Office. 

With  this  system,  the  risk  of  loss  or  delay  of  letters 
through  the  carelessness  of  messengers  is  eliminated 
and  in  addition  to  the  advantages  of  greater  security 
and  better  service  to  the  tenant,  the  saving  ef¬ 
fected  in  the  cost  of  elevator  operation  is  alone 

sufficient  to  justify 
the  cost  of  installa¬ 
tion. 


Chute  is  an 
Economy 


The  use, or  rather 
misuse,  of  the  eleva- 

The  Mail  tor  f°r 
the  pur¬ 
pose  of 
mailing  letters  costs 
much  more  than  was 
realized  before  the  in¬ 
troduction  of  the  Mail 
Chute,  which  not  only 
stops  this  loss  but  leaves 
the  elevator  to  its  legiti¬ 
mate  use  of  carrying 
passengers  up  and  down 
stairs.  The  saving  ef¬ 
fected  by  the  Full  Story 
.  Model  F 

USe  Ot  the  Partly  Opened. 


Page  Six 


mail  chute  is  itself  more  than 
sufficient  to  justify  the  installa¬ 
tion. 

The  Cutler  Mail  Chute  is 
furnished  in  a  number  of  forms, 
two  of  which,  M  odel  F  and 
Model  C,  are  illustrated  here; 
also  a  few  of  the  many  different 
designs  of  the  U.  S.  Mail  Boxes 
that  are  installed  with  it. 

In  addition  to  this  stock 
work,  we  furnish  special  designs 
when  desired  and  by  using  stock 
models  and  patterns  in  part, 
satisfactory  results  can  often  be 
secured  at  comparatively  low 
cost.  Such  a  piece  of  work  is 
illustrated  on  page  8. 

In  buildings  of  great  height 
or  where  the  mail  is  unusually 
heavy,  it  is  customary  to  dupli¬ 
cate  the  mail  chute,  and  many 
of  the  larger  and  more  impor¬ 
tant  buildings  are  equipped  with 
one  or  more  pairs  of  chutes  as 
illustrated  here.  In  the  Wool- 
worth  Building  six  Mail  Chutes 
are  installed,  one  pair  of  which 
extends  up  into  the  fifty-fifth 
story.  The  Equitable  Building 
is  equipped  with  four  pairs  of 

Cutler  M  ai  1  Twin  Mail  Chutes  Model  C 
,,  Installed  in  the  Telegraph 

Chutes  eX"  and  Telephone  (Western 
.  .  .  Union)  Building,  New  York 

tending  into  city. 


/’age  Seven 


the  thirty-seventh  story,  aggre¬ 
gating  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  (296)  stories. 

These  Mail  Chutes  are  of  the 
Model  C  type  with  fronts  hinged 
at  one  side  and  secured  at  the 
other  by  special  locking  mechan¬ 
ism  (see  page  7) .  This  type  of 
Mail  Chute  is  recommended 
where  the  mail  is  unusually 
heavy  and  blockades,  if  they  oc¬ 
cur,  must  be  cleared  in  the  least 
possible  time. 

The  examples  referred  to  are 
selected  from  a  long  list  of  wide¬ 
ly  distributed  buildings. 

The  Cutler  Mail  Chute  is  pro¬ 
vided  with  means  of  closing  the 
letter  openings  in  the  different 
stories,  controlled  by  the  Postal 
authorities.  When  the  chutes 
are  installed  in  pairs,  each  chute 
is  closed  in  alternate  stories  so  - 

that  the  number  Of  inletS  is  re-  Bronze  front  of  special  U.  S.  Mail  Box 

No.  2126  designed  for  the  Adams  Ex- 

duced  by  half.  By  this  means  press  Building,  New  York  City, 

the  mail  is  divided  and  over¬ 
crowding  and  blockades  avoided.  In  a  building  equipped  with 
twin  mail  chutes,  the  service  can  be  maintained  uninterruptedly 
by  means  of  one  chute  temporarily  while  the  other  is  closed  for 
cleaning  or  repairs. 

Descriptive  circulars,  details  and  specifications  will  be  sent  on 
application,  also  an  estimating  form  outlining  the  information 
that  we  require  in  making  up  our  estimates. 


Page  Eight 


